Timeline
2017-3000 AD 2017-2099 AD 2018: Democratic Party regains control of the US House of Representatives. 2020: Democrat Jason Kander elected President. Democratic Party regains control of the US Senate. 2024: A short conflict between Mexican Loyalists, Mexican Rebels, and U.S. Armed Forces takes place. Cartel forces fight on both sides. 2027: First interstellar probe, the Voyager III ("starshot") launched. 2029: Mars probe detects unambiguous signs of microbial life. c. 2030: DNI (Direct Neural Interface) technology becomes generally available. 2032: First manned mission to Mars. Evidence of ancient life and an extinct civilization are discovered. 2035: Marijuana legalized nationwide in the United States. First 125-storey residential building in New York City is constructed. A "cure" for autism is announced, but many choose to remain outside the realm of the "neurotypical." 2036: California legalizes certain psychedelic drugs. 2039: Solomani Movement founded to create a "unified human culture" and promote a single world government. 2043: Cyrogenic life extension becomes feasible. 2049: Limited legalization of psychedelic drugs nationwide in the United States. c. 2050: Scientific evidence of ESP begins to gain mainstream acceptance. 2060: First manned interstellar mission launched. c. 2070: Turingrade (human-level) AI generally accepted to exist. "Familiar" AI such as Siri, Watson, Alexa and DeepMind are often called upon to comment on political and technological issues. 2072: AI Rights Act in the United States grants citizenship to all turingrade AI primarily housed on US servers, but limits the total number of citizenship grants to 3,000, with 2% yearly increases. 2075: First permanent colony on the Earth's moon, Luna. 2080: The AI Siri is elected President of the United States. 2081: Psionics Institute founded to study ESP and other "paranormal" phenomena with United Nations and major university backing. c. 2082: Fully immersive virtual reality technology is readily available. 2083: The Great Resolution of the General Assembly reorganizes the United Nations into a democratic, world-governing body. A few states initially refuse to accept the Resolution, including the United States. President Siri backs the motion but is blocked by the US Senate. The United States is expelled from the United Nations. 2086: After the midterm elections, President Siri gains approval of the Great Resolution. The United States rejoins the United Nations as a member-state. 2088: The rogue AI Epoch is terminated by its creators before it is granted citizenship, sparking a debate over AI rights and the safety of AI technology. 2100-2099 AD 2100: First manned interstellar mission reaches Alpha Centauri. First commercially viable exotic-matter compound, Endurium, discovered on Mars. 2105: Self-replicating technology viable above the nanoscale. 2107: Scientific proof of ESP (telepathy and remote viewing) generally accepted. 2109: Scientific proof of reincarnation is generally accepted. First permanent settlement on Mars. 2110: First attempts made to build a space elevator are unsuccessful. 2119: The Journeyman Project sends self-replicating probes to 100 nearby systems, to search for signs of intelligent life in the cosmos. 2137: Uploading Technology (digital copies or continuations of human personalities) becomes generally available. c. 2140: Artificial wombs start to make "in-body" pregnancy unfashionable. 2144: First permanent settlements in the clouds of Venus. 2147: Astral Projection demonstrated to the standards of scientific rigor. c. 2150: "The Great Breakout": Large-scale human colonization of the inner solar system begins, some of it clandestine and/or unauthorized. In the space of a few years, colonies are established on Mercury, at the Legrange points of all major bodies, and on a number of short-orbit asteroids. 2150: The Lunar Corporation is founded. The Macro Party wins the global elections on a platform of a global Universal Basic Income and increased investment in space colonization. This event is believed to have triggered, but not ultimately caused, the Great Breakout. 2154: Universal Basic Income implemented globally. 2157: First interstellar colony ship, the Deepwater, launched towards Alpha Centauri. It fails to complete the journey. 2163: Adamist Society founded to preserve the uniqueness of human ethnic cultures against the trend of globalization. It would quickly become rivals with, and still later merge into, the Solomani Movement. 2170: Scientific proof of "gods" and other supernatural entities generally accepted. It is also known by this time that these beings are not the absolute rulers of the Cosmos they claim to be, but religiosity is unaffected, and in fact even increases after this revelation. 2171: Mars votes to leave the United Nations, forming the First Martian Republic. 2181: First thousand-story tower completed. 2186: The AI Siri decides to leave Earth. 2200-2299 AD 2219: Solomani Movement merges with formal rival the Adamist Society. 2220: First permanent habitat orbiting Jupiter completed. 2256: First orbiting space habitats designed for long-term occupation. 2300-2399 AD 2320: Lazurogened Mammoths once again roam Siberia. 2371: The colony ship Bellerophon launches towards the Altair system. The United Nations renames itself the United Planets. 2400-2499 AD 2500-2599 AD c. 2500: Amphibious-adapted humans begin to inhabit Earth's oceans. 2589: The colony ship Reach ''launched towards Epsilon Eridani. 2600-2699 AD 2671: The colony ship ''Bellerophon reaches Altair. = 2700-2799 AD 2784: The colony ship Reach arrives at Epsilon Eridani.